[distressed_romeo]

Is it do-able? Just wondering as, Greg Howe's new signature guitar has one blade-style single-spaced humbucker, and one regular humbucker in the bridge, with a five-way switch to control it. Would it actually sound any good?

 

[Josh]

Apparently the original RG565s do it. I've never tried it with mine (came with a 3-way switch), but it could sound good :shrug:

 

[ohio_eric]

The Greg Howe Laguna's 5 way operates like an Ibanez 5 way. So you get the neck in parallel and both the neck and the bridge split. I would guess if the pickup is hot enough it could sound OK.

 

[noodles]

Coil tapping has nothing to do with the pickup size. If it has four wires, you can do it.

 

[Drew]

By the way, Soopamahn and I were talking about this over PMs...

What's everyone's thoughts about a coil-tapped 'bucker vs a singlecoil? I've always kind of been of the school that provided it's a good pickup for it (some seem to work better than others), a coil tap can really get you maybe 95-99% of the way there to a single coil sound, and that in a pinch it'll do very nicely. I just don't know if I'm in the minority here, though...

 

[noodles]

I think it depends on the pickup. Lower output pickups do a much better job, and I have always been happy with the sound of a tapped JB. I know it is not quite there, but if I want that sound in the studio, I'm going to use the real thing. Live, I seriously doubt anyone could really tell the difference.

 

[darren]

I find most single coils to be too thin and clanky for my tastes, so i tend to prefer the sound of a humbucker in parallel mode. The JB and Jazz do split very nicely, though.

 

[Drew]

Cool, that's about what my impression was, too. It helps that I prefer lower output pickups, anyway. :lol:

I remember the Air Norton 7 splitting rather well, on my old 7620. The Tone Zone 7 was interesting - it sounded remarkably Telecaster-like.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Romeo?

I think it depends on the pickup. Lower output pickups do a much better job, and I have always been happy with the sound of a tapped JB. I know it is not quite there, but if I want that sound in the studio, I'm going to use the real thing. Live, I seriously doubt anyone could really tell the difference.

JB = low output? :spock:

How does a tapped JB sound, Dave? Like a hot single-coil, pretty thick and midrangey but still with the bright snap and clarity?

Full story, migrating over from the thread where Technomancer announced BKP is doing single-coils - I'm strongly considering H/S/H or H/S/S BKP pickups in my next 7. I do think I will go with something with moderate output, i.e. a Cold Sweat neck if it's a humbucker. So the question is which setup is more versatile etc., and Drew has me pretty convinced that having the option to simply tap the humbucker would work well :yesway:

 

[noodles]

JB = low output? :spock:

Not low, lower. Standards have changed, and what used to be really hot is now middle of the road.

How does a tapped JB sound, Dave? Like a hot single-coil, pretty thick and midrangey but still with the bright snap and clarity?

Very plucky, which is awesome for clean sounds. The output drop is pretty big, so it is not so usable to switch between on the same channel, though.

 

[distressed_romeo]

Cheers guys! The Air Norton S was actually the one I was thinking of, to apply an Ibanez-style switching system to an SSH guitar;

1) Bridge humbucker mode.
2) Bridge and neck split.
3) Bridge and neck humbucker mode.
4) Neck split plus middle.
5) Neck humbucker (plus push-pull to split it).

 

[distressed_romeo]

Not low, lower. Standards have changed, and what used to be really hot is now middle of the road.

Very plucky, which is awesome for clean sounds. The output drop is pretty big, so it is not so usable to switch between on the same channel, though.

Usually on the PU positions on my guitars that have the volume drop problem, I'll just kick in a compressor pedal, so I can keep those nice quacky cleans.

 

[Drew]

I find most single coils to be too thin and clanky for my tastes, so i tend to prefer the sound of a humbucker in parallel mode. The JB and Jazz do split very nicely, though.

I'm the exact opposite, Darren - I always found a parallel 'bucker sort of the worst of both worlds, thinner and brighter than a humbucker, but more compressed and without the touch-sensitive dynamics of a singlecoil.

Really, you need to dial in an amp a bit different with a singlecoil - you need a darker amp sound than you do for a humbucker. Done right, they're plenty fat, but also have a great attack to them. And, the good news is the brighter, more cutting bridge humbucker sound balances pretty well with the same sort of tone. :yesway:

 

[Max]

im yet to play a tapped bucker that satisfied my want fora single coil, butthats not to say it hasnt given me great tones. My idea of a good single tone though is glassy and fat as fuck.

 

[105]

im yet to play a tapped bucker that satisfied my want fora single coil, butthats not to say it hasnt given me great tones. My idea of a good single tone though is glassy and fat as fuck.

Butthats?

 

[Drew]

Butthats?

I know, right? :lol:

 

[eleven59]

Question: is tapped the same thing as splitting a humbucker to a single-coil? Because I was always told they're not :lol:

 

[darren]

"Tapped" and "split" are used interchangeably and should not be.

Some pickups have a "tap" in the coil that allows a portion of the coil to be grounded, resulting in a thinner, brighter sound than the full-power pickup. Both humbuckers and single-coils can have a "tap".

A humbucker can be split, where one entire coil is shut off. Similar in concept to a "tap" but not the same, because technically you can "tap" both coils of a humbucker and still have a humbucking pickup.

Incidentally, transformers also have "taps" on their coils to provide different output levels.

Incidentally,

 

[Soopahmahn]

Ah. Incidentally, in this case, I suppose we're talking about splitting, then. Incidentally.

 

[distressed_romeo]

"Tapped" and "split" are used interchangeably and should not be.

Some pickups have a "tap" in the coil that allows a portion of the coil to be grounded, resulting in a thinner, brighter sound than the full-power pickup. Both humbuckers and single-coils can have a "tap".

A humbucker can be split, where one entire coil is shut off. Similar in concept to a "tap" but not the same, because technically you can "tap" both coils of a humbucker and still have a humbucking pickup.

Incidentally, transformers also have "taps" on their coils to provide different output levels.

Incidentally,

Ah, thanks for the clarification!

I was actually talking about splitting here...